Facts
- New York criminalized knowingly promoting a sexual performance by a child under 16 by distributing material depicting such a performance.
- The statute defined “sexual performance” to include sexual conduct by a child under 16, including masturbation and lewd exhibition of the genitals.
- Paul Ira Ferber, a New York City bookstore owner, sold two films depicting young boys masturbating.
- Ferber was charged and convicted for knowingly promoting a sexual performance by a child through the sale of the films.
Issues
- Whether a state may criminalize the distribution of visual depictions of children engaged in sexual conduct without requiring proof that the material is obscene under the Miller standard.
- Whether the statute is unconstitutional on First Amendment overbreadth grounds.
Decision
- The Supreme Court reversed the New York Court of Appeals and upheld the statute as applied.
- The Court held that child pornography is a category of expression outside First Amendment protection, even when not obscene under Miller.
- The Court rejected the facial overbreadth challenge, concluding any unconstitutional applications were not substantial compared to the statute’s legitimate reach.
- The judgment was unanimous.
Legal Principles
- States may ban the distribution of child pornography without incorporating the Miller obscenity test.
- Preventing the sexual exploitation of children is a compelling governmental interest that justifies greater regulation of depictions involving minors than of adult pornography.
- Distribution of child pornography may be prohibited because it fuels production by creating economic incentives, and restricting the market is a permissible means of reducing child abuse.
- A child-pornography statute aimed at depictions of minors engaged in specified sexual conduct may be upheld despite arguable marginal applications, where overbreadth is not substantial relative to the statute’s valid sweep.
Conclusion
The Court sustained New York’s prohibition on distributing depictions of minors engaged in specified sexual conduct, recognizing child pornography as unprotected speech and allowing states to suppress its distribution to protect children and reduce the market that drives its production.